FILE - In this Dec. 9, 2016 file photo, Madonna attends the 11th Annual Billboard Women in Music honors in New York. MGM Motion Picture Group president Jonathan Glickman says Tuesday that the pop music icon will direct a film based on ballet dancer Michaela DePrince memoir “Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina.” DePrince overcame a childhood in war-stricken Sierra Leone to become a world class ballerina. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File) less

FILE - In this Dec. 9, 2016 file photo, Madonna attends the 11th Annual Billboard Women in Music honors in New York. MGM Motion Picture Group president Jonathan Glickman says Tuesday that the pop music icon ... more

Photo: Evan Agostini, Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

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FILe - In this July 10, 2012 file photo, dancer Michaela DePrince rehearses for her lead role in Le Corsaire in Johannesburg. Pop Star Madonna will direct a film based on DePrince's memoir “Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina.” DePrince overcame a childhood in war-stricken Sierra Leone to become a world class ballerina. less

FILe - In this July 10, 2012 file photo, dancer Michaela DePrince rehearses for her lead role in Le Corsaire in Johannesburg. Pop Star Madonna will direct a film based on DePrince's memoir “Taking Flight: ... more

Photo: Denis Farrell, AP

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Madonna to direct film on dancer Michaela DePrince's life

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Madonna is pirouetting back into the director's chair.

MGM Motion Picture Group president Jonathan Glickman says Tuesday that the pop music icon will direct a film based on ballet dancer Michaela DePrince's memoir "Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina."

DePrince overcame a childhood in war-stricken Sierra Leone to become a world class ballerina. She made her debut at age 17 in South Africa's Joburg Ballet and also appeared in Beyonce's "Lemonade."

Madonna has directed two previous features: The 2008 comedy "Filth and Wisdom" and the Wallis Simpson drama "W.E." She is also working on a film adaptation of the novel "The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells."

No cast or release date is set for "Taking Flight," but "Fresh Off the Boat" writer Camilla Blackett will pen the screenplay.